Today's Opinions

The current Age of Anger feeds on daily news that reports and receives public gripes.
Mainstream news is a prime venue for bouts between camps of adversaries, called “strategists.”
The most public value of the medium, apart from entertaining joy rides or rant fodder, depends on whether its role is understood. What is news and how does it fit in?
To explore news, I make up a typical, but imagined, news event. I do it to disrupt political habits.

The federal budget practice of “earmarking” – or “pork spending” as it is known colloquially – has exploded during the last 15 years. Earmarks are line items in spending bills inserted by legislators for specific projects in their home states.
Some infamous earmarks funded a $50 million indoor rain forest in Iowa and a $223 million “bridge to nowhere” in Alaska. Earmarks can provide recipients with federal grant money, contracts, loans, or other types of benefits.

New bistro on horizon
We have heard that a trendy new bistro complete with full bar and wood fired pizza is going to open in town. Our sources tell us that “Dixie Girl,” named after business woman Denise Lane who hails from the South, is on target to open in the old Magistrate Court location behind Hill Diner in the spring.

Writing a business plan is a daunting process to many entrepreneurs, but one that will help find financing and keep a new or existing business on budget and on schedule for growth and development. And it’s worth it — studies show that business owners without a formal plan are three times more likely to close their doors.

I was my mother’s third child and her third son. I never did understand why parents care so much about the gender of their newborns, but my mother sure did and the entire hospital wing knew it.
As the story was told to me, she literally threw a tantrum, throwing things and crying that she had wanted a girl. The nurses even put a pink bracelet on me in an attempt to calm her down.

If you dread making New Year’s resolutions because you’re afraid you’ll fall short, take heart: One minor setback doesn’t mean having to write off the rest of the year.
You’ll probably have more success if you start out with small steps and gain momentum as you go, whether it’s losing weight, lowering debt or boosting retirement savings.
If your goal is to improve your personal finances, here are a few ideas to get you started:

Dear Virginia - It has been a while since you wrote a letter to the New York Sun seeking information regarding the existence of Santa Claus.
At the time, Mr. Francis Pharcellus Church was assigned to respond to your letter. According to my records, Mr. Church answered at length, assuring you that Santa Claus is real.